Uke-crack!

No, I'm not talking about cracks found on ukes that have been left dehydrated in a dry environment. The uke-crack I'm talking about here is like when one is addicted to drugs (or suffering from UAS). That is, a small dose of ukulele to help calm the urge to acquire more ukes. I guess I've had my some recent UAS flare ups in the form of the Lanikai zebrawood concert and the Mya-Moe order. Apparently I'm in need of more uke-crack because I've just pulled the trigger on a Kala Acacia Pocket Uke! (it's for my son! Honest!)

As with any UAS induced uke-crack purchase, I must come up with a few excuses for it. First off, I've always wanted one of those Kala Acacia ukes because the Acacia comes from Taiwan, my home country. I've always thought I'd get one of those slotted headstock Acacia tenors to fulfill this desire, but by the time it came out, I have already had too many tenors and I've become more of a concert-scale guy. So I've been able to resist that one. However, I don't have any sopranino (or smaller) sized ukes! So the Pocket Uke fits the bill. The main problem I have with the Pocket uke is that it seems to cost too much for what you get. The street price for the mahogany version is $210 and the Acacia version is $280. You can get a Acacia tenor for not much more than that! Now, I understand that these little guys are probably harder to build than tenors, but as with most human beings, I tend to want bigger when I spend more money. Still, since I believe the Pocket uke isn't necessarily easier to build than bigger ukes, I consider the price tag to be somewhat justifiable. Some research into it on Youtube and various forums seemed to suggest that it is a worthwhile addition despite the relatively high price. So I thought I'd probably get a mahogany one because the Acacia one just seemed to be over the top expensive. But I found one on Amazon for $240 so I went for it.

So I guess this is probably the purest form of uke-crack. Small dose of uke to hold down UAS for awhile. Hopefully there won't be any more uke-crack before the Mya-Moe is completed. My expectations for the Pocket uke is actually pretty low, despite some good reviews I've read about it. It will most definitely be a novelty item for me, but hopefully it'll sound decent enough to me that I would play it once in a while. I guess I can always have my younger daughter (3 years old) play it if she wants to learn ukulele. Either way, it should be interesting, and I'll have pics and stuff here once it arrives.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!